Yesterday, my bib overall wearing buddy and I traveled to Columbiana, OH. Columbiana is the small town where the big Shaker Woods Festival is held. To say we are excited about The Shaker Woods Festival is an understatement. My bean ditched us and decided to go with GramBarb because she was offered an opportunity to swim. If I were thirteen, I would also dump us to go swimming. This gave my bib overall wearing wonder buns and me a very rare extended amount of alone time. Eric often teases and says we don’t know what to do when The Bean isn’t around to act as a buffer, but we enjoyed our day together.
The drive to Columbiana, OH, is easy and lovely. We travel Route 422 most of the way. The drive is scenic, the roads are good, and there is very little traffic. I made the drive with GramBarb and The Bean two years ago, but I feel confident I could make it alone without issue. It took almost two hours to get there, and Eric and I laughed and conversed the whole time. The purpose of our visit was to prepare our little building for the upcoming show in August. A local gentleman was scheduled to pressure wash our building, and we were required to be there when it was done. This allowed us to familiarize ourselves with the grounds, clean up the leaves and debris, and assess what we thought we wanted to do to prepare for the show.
Following the advice of a good friend and experienced Shaker Woods attendee, we decided against any significant changes to the building until after we had a show under our belts. Not renovating our building goes against every fiber of my creative and Type A being, but I implicitly trust my dear friend Trish and follow her advice. Trish told us that we needed to experience the crowd and the building and assess our needs before we put any money into our building. She advised us that what we think we will need and what we genuinely need may be very different. I am also pleased that The Bibbed Wonder got to look closely at many of the other buildings, and my requests for paint, trim, flooring, and doors do not seem so outrageous now.
Although I would love to do a major overhaul before the big show, I believe I can work with what is already there, make it my own, and make it cute and eye-catching. I will finally have an opportunity to use my antique baby bath tubs! Also, once the shelves are filled with our products, we add some plants, decorations, and a few small touches. It will look lovely.
We spent the entire day in Ohio, we feel excited about the upcoming show, and my head is filled with a ton of ideas for our cute little building in the woods. Eric is being surprisingly complacent and accommodating. When he doesn’t protest, argue with me, and tell me, “No,” I fear I have broken him for good. I’m unsure if it’s a good or bad thing. Perhaps he was just too tired to protest…insert wink.
Our summer has been filled with a lot of excitement. We are always excited about the market season. Our new body wash is set to be released online today. The Shaker Woods Festival will be a huge undertaking and exhausting, but we are reasonably well prepared for it. Also, Morgan and I will hang out with our favorite farm family this Saturday at Lone Oak Farms. The Bibbed Wonder and Jenna, the Wonder Girl, will be at The Ligonier Country Market. We have a lot going on, and it’s all good things.
I hope, dear reader, your summer is filled with good things too. I hope life is filled with opportunities that excite you and fill your head with energy and positivity. As always, stay safe, be smart, may you look forward to the future, and keep washing your hands. If you are local, come to say hello to us on the porch at Lone Oak Farm this Saturday. If you go to the Ligonier Country Market, make sure to stop in and meet our Jenna the Wonder Girl and give The Bibbed Wonder a hard time. He’s earned it…insert wink.